Four Weeks with Lexie
by Marluciel
Summary: From Tom's point of veiw. His friend is suffering from a brain tumor she doesnt even know about. To spend her last months together, Tom plans a trip around the world where shes longed to go. Tom tries to to her his feelings, but will he be too late?
1. The News

_Hm... I seem to be in more of a "create-a-story" mood rather than "Update-all-my-other-bloody-stories" mood.. I guess I cant stay focused on one thing...hmm its a miracle that I actually finished a story... I hope this is going to be good and I know most deff. that it I'm gonna keep on updating this one... _

_Okay dokay... lets get on crackin!_

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We were in the recording studio when then phone called. Fletch gestured for us to stop so he could answer it. Danny grumbled, "Damn, that's the fourth time we've had to stop in the last five minutes!" He glared at Harry. "You kept on messin' up every other second!"

Harry twirled on his throne before shrugging and giving a stupid grin. "My bad, I guess."

Danny stood up from his stool. "Your bad, you guess? Why you-" Fletch stepped into the room, looking grave and had a hand covering the mouth piece.

"Its for you, Tom."

I frowned as Danny, Doug and Harry looked at me. He handed the phone to me and I took it.

"hello?" I asked.

"Tom..." A soft American voice floated through the reciever. I immediatly recognized the voice of Kendall, one of my friends.

"Er, yeah, whats up?"

"Uhm, I think you need to be sitting when I tell you this..."

I frowned again, and then shrugged mentally. "Alright, one sec..." I walked over to the couch propped up against a nearby wall. "Ok, I'm sitting, what do you need to tell me?"

I heard a shuddery intake of breath on the other side. "Well... You know about Lexie..."

My eyes widened. "What about Lexie?" I asked, my voice rather loud and frantic. I got concerned looks from the guys.

Kendall started to cry on the other side. "Lexie... she's... she's dying, Tom... Her tumor... its gotten worse..." She broke down crying. I couldnt speak. My mouth was dry and my tongue seemed to stick to the top of my mouth.

Lexie was one of my friends when I was a kid. She moved from America when we were both around five, and we became fast friends when we met in grade school. She was always full of life and happiness, and everyone was attracted to her, not only by the her charm and the good feelings she gave off, but also because of her physical appearance. She had long light brown hair with natural blonde highlights in them, and she had the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen. When we reached highschool, even though I was considered "nerdy", and the "In-crowd" always wanted Lexie to be with them, she never left me. At times I felt as if we were more than friends, but she would shrug it off by laughing and saying I was like a brother to her. Sometimes that made me feel like the happiest guy in the world. At other times it crushed me. It hurt the most when I had to leave her when I joined McFly, and she moved to America, and I hadn't seen her face to face for nearly five years now.

Well anyways, two years ago, in the middle of our Wonderland tour, I got a call from Kendall, saying that Lexie had a Grand Mal seizure. She was put into the hospital, where she got a MRI, and it showed that she had a brain tumor. Her parents begged the doctors not to tell her, so Lexie had no idea about it. A few months later, I got another call from Kendall, this time with good news. The radiation seemed to have killed the tumor. Lexie was fine.

And now, this. We were planning to meet Lexie next month, all of us. Danny, Dougie and Harry were just as in love with her as I was. We all acted like a huge happy family.

I heard Kendall speak again, but it was like I wasnt really hearing.

"What?" I asked, snapping out of my zone.

Kendall gave out a shaky sigh. "Well, next time you see her, she might not look different... but they say by the rate of her tumor, she only has a couple months to live."

The phone fell from my fingers with a clatter. Kendall's voice came out from the phone, asking if I was alright, was I still there. I stared in a daze at the boys and Fletch.

"Its Lexie... she's going to die..."

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_Mmmkay guys, review, please! and I can guarentee that I am going to try to update tomorrow._

_Toodles!_


	2. Miami

_Mmkay, this is gonna be a longer chapter... so yeah, sit back, relax, and I hope you enjoy!!_

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I started to go through the week as if I was half-asleep. I couldn't pay attention, my mind would wander elsewhere when I tried to focus. I was loosing sleep and I could tell that my appearance was getting more and more dishevelled. I had to do something... I only had so long before Lexie died... I had to do something with her, spend her last months with her... Fletch came up behind me and cleared his throat.

"Ehm, Tom, I received this in the mail... I think you might enjoy it..." He handed me a brochure.

The front of its glossy cover advertised a four-week trip around the world between January and Febuary, called "Heaven and Earth". Hmm, that sounded interesting, and I started to browse through it. The tour, complete with a private jet, would go to the Mayan ruins in Guatamala, the Incan ruins in Peru, the stone carvings of Easter Island, the Polynesian Cook Islands, the Killing Fields and the Holocaust Museum in Phom Penh, Cambodia, the Taj Mahal and Amber Fort of Jaipur, India, the stone cathedals of Ethiopia, the Hypogeum and other old temples in Malta, and then finally, at the end of the trip we would go to Tromso, Norway to see the northern lights.

I read them over and over again. These were the places that I knew that Lexie had always wanted to go. I knew I should, I knew I should... But what about McFly? They needed me too... Right now, I didn't have the time. But neither did Lexie. I looked up at Fletch.

"Uhm, do you mind if... do you mind if I went on this trip with Lexie? It could be the last thing I ever do with her..." I asked silently.

He nodded encouragingly and smiled. "Of course. It was the other boys that talked about it before showing it to me. They really want you to go, Tom." Just as he said that, Danny, Dougie and Harry walked in.

"Soooo, what do you think? Will you go?" Danny asked, rubbing his hands together.

"You don't mind that I'll be gone for the next month?"

They all shrugged. "Dont worry, mate, we think you should... I mean, this is a big thing, about Lexie and all..." Dougie said slowly.

I smiled. "Thanks, guys, that means alot to me... I think I'm gonna call Lexie up..." I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and pressed my speed dial #4. I heard it ring a couple times, and then the familiar, cheerful voice of Lexie rang out.

"Hey Tom! What's crackin'!"

I bit my lip, trying to not cry. She sounded so happy... she didn't know... "Well-" My voice cracked. "Well, I have something I think you'll be interested in."

"Oh really? Please do tell."

"Fletch gave m this brochure and well.. anyway, to make it short, I was wondering if you wanted to go around the world with me. Next month."

There was a pause, Lexie thinking about it. "What kind of trip is it?" She finally asked.

I spent five or so minutes explaining it, flipping through the brochure as I spoke. When I finished, Lexie was very quiet on the other end.

"Really? And McFly's gonna let you go? What about the band? Don't you have a tour coming up?"

"They said I could," I hesitated. "Look, I know that this is a really big decision, and I dont really need an answer right now. Talk to your parents and stuff and see what they think. I dont have to confirm it now, not yet. A month is really a long time."

She paused again. "I think they'll be ok. Its my doctor I'm worried about. He keeps on making pointless appointments on my head every so often. It's not like I'm mental or something. But I'll check and see anyways."

I swallowed hard. "All right, sounds great. Do you want me to send this brochure to you?"

Lexie laughed on the other side of the line. "Well duh, silly. I should probably know what we're gonnna be doing, huh?"

"I'll send it in the post today." I said. "Oh yeah, and Lexie?"

"Yep?"

"This is gonna be the most amazing trip of our lives."

"I'm pretty damn sure it'll be, Tommy." I could tell that she was grinning on the other side. "It will be."

--------------------

I said my goodbyes to Danny, Dougie, Harry and Fletch. "Call us, eh? And take pictures, too." Harry said, slapping my back.

"Alright," I smiled, and we all hugged goodbye.

"See ya, mate!" They all yelled, and I stepped into the walk-way.

A couple hours later I landed in Miami, where the tour was supposed to begin. I retrieved my luggage and waited at Lexie's baggage claim. I called the guys to tell them I made it, and then I found a seat where I could wait.

Twenty to thirty minutes later, Lexie wasn't too hard to spot. Tall and beautiful, she had a knack for standing out of the crowd. The second she saw me across the terminal, she waved her arms above her head. I knew what was coming and cringed.

"TOMMY, MY FRIEND! I HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED AND MAY THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!" Her voice carried out through the whole building. Strangers turned to stare at me in shock.

"Obviously she doesnt get out that much," I said under my breath.

Moments later, in the crowd that had suddenly given us lots of room, we were hugging.

"You seem to be feeling really great, Lexie."

She grinned at me. "Had a coupla cocktails on the plance. Had to get in the party mood."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that safe in your-" I stopped myself.

This time, Lexie raised an eyebrow at _me_. "Why wouldn't it be safe?" she questioned.

"Oh, uh, nothing..."

As soon as we stopped hugging, Lexie's eyes seemed to brighten even more. "Can you belive it?" She asked, "In two-and-a-half days, our adventure begins!" Lexie wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Are ya getting pumped up yet?"

"Of course" I couldn't belive that this over-energetic person was actually suffering from a brain tumor. It seemed nearly impossible. And the fact that she would die was breaking my heart.

"Oh, no you're not. This-" She pointed to herself, "is what pumped up looks like. You don't look pumped."

I forced a smile. "I'm pumped on the inside."

She rolled her eyes. "How was the flight from London?"

"Great, you?"

"Amazing. Got to sit next to the Bryan brothers. You know, the world ranked doubles team thingy? Pretty awesome, actually. We started talkin' and I mentioned you and the trip. They were pretty amazed. And they're also your fans."

I smiled, a real one this time. It was always Lexie to make friends in a matter of seconds. "Wow, sounds cool."

She grinned. "Wow, I gotta unwind... gotta stay in shape, ya know? I'm gonna be doin' quite a bit of hiking."

I looked at her confused. "you are?"

"Didn't I tell you?" her voice began to rise. "I'm going AROUND THE WORLD WITH MY MOST AMAZINGLY BEST FRIEND!" The crowd parted even more, I think some were frightened now.

"Are you hungry?" she suddenly asked.

"a bit. I had some tea on the flight."

"Oh you're so British. Tea, tea, tea... well, I'm starved. Wanna drop off our luggage at the hotel and then get a bite to eat?"

"You got it."

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We found a restaurant in downtown Miami, where we ate outside as cool mist sprayed around us, watching people walk to and fro. We talked back and forth until Lexie stopped. She leaned back in her chair, and put her hands behind her head, and squinted at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're still not getting into this, are ya? I mean, what we're doing?"

"I'm getting there." In truth I was still feeling terrible that I knew about her fate and she hadn't a clue. I hurt so badly inside...

"Did you ever consider you could be depressed?"

How did she know? "I'm not depressed. Just busy." That was true. Busy with McFly and worrying about her.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not depressed."

"They ahve medication now. It might do you some good, actually."

I rolled my eyes. "I dont _need_ medication."

"Denial is an ugly thing, Tommy."

"I'm not _in _denial."

"see what I mean? That right there is denial, buddy boy."

"You're a pain, you know that?"

She grinned at me, and popped an olive in her mouth. She chewed, swallowed, and grinned even wider. "So why are you depressed? You're most deff not excited 'bout this, and we're about to leave on this trip. So talk to me! I'll be your shrink."

"I'm not depressed, I'm just... swamped. Under stress. You have no idea how much stress I've been under."

Lexie wiggled her eyebrows at me. "yeah, having girls rip off your shirts is most deff a component in your stress...C'mon, stress is something that you choose to put on yourself. And if it's your choice, accept it. If you're getting stressed about it, don't grumble; you made that choice. In the same way, you can choose to get pumped about this trip. Its totally up to you."

I frowned. I was being killed on the inside about her tumor. She had no idea about it, and frankly, didn't care who she was hurting. I looked, away, shaking my head. "It's not as easy as you think." I said slowly. "Life can throw you curveballs when you were guarenteed a slow ball.

"You don't think I don't know that?" She asked softly. I looked up. Did she really know about her condition...? "Look, just so you know, this trip is going to be brilliant. You just wait. And when this is over, you'll look back and be glad you went. And then you'll thank me for bringing you along."

"Actually, I invited you to come, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Right." She shrugged. "Well, be a good host and dont ruin my moment." Lexie got our waitress' attention. "This man needs a margarita." She said, pointing at me.

Despite my feelings, I laughed.


	3. Yaxha, Guatemala

Maybe it was Lexie's pep talk, or maybe it was the margarita, but I was really warming up to the idea of traveling around the world with her now. Whether she was sick or not was irrelevant; Lexie's good mood was contaigous. Lexie always had that effect on me.

Well anyways, the next day we went to the reception room of our hotel TCS had arranged for us to check in for our trip. We signed in, giving them our passports and got luggage tags. They were large, bright green and numbered, so the TCS crew could easily make sure all of our luggage was accounted for. One of the nice things about our trip was that TCS handled all of our stuff. The only thing we had to do was to meet outside the hotel at the appointed time.

Later in the evening Lexie and I attended the introductory cocktail party and dinner. We would have a chance to meet all the people we were about to be traveling with. There was 46 of us on the trip, and all were considerably older than the two of us.

We mingled and chatted with many people, plenty already taken a liking to Lexie. Eventually we made our way to the ballroom where many tables were set up so we could eat. As we were eating, we were introduced to the TCS staff, and quite a bit would be traveling with us to make sure things went according to plan. At our table was a doctor, Doctor Carie McKinley, and she would be the one that attended to any medical issues that would happen. Inside, I was glad.

"Soooo, any advice you could give us?" Lexie asked amiably.

Doctor McKinley smiled at her. "Don't ever eat any vegetables during this trip, no matter how nice the hotel you're staying in is."

"Because of fertilizers and soil or something like that?" I questioned.

"No, because they wash them in the local water, you'll never know exactly _what_ went to the bathroom in there, or if it was purified water." She said.

I nodded. "Anything else?"

"Dont brush your teeth with tap water either. If you take these warnings, you'll probably be off fine. But trust me- more than half of this group'll be ignoring that, and they'll all end up sick. And trust me, that's something you dont want. No fun at all." As she spoke to us, I could see her looking back and forth at us. "Are you two married?"

Lexie laughed. "No, we've been really close friends since childhood. Tom here asked me if I wanted to come, and I would never turn something down like this to spend time with him."

She smiled. "I think it's great that you two are doing this together. Some friends aren't always this close as they should be."

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**Yaxha, Guatemala**

On Friday morning, Lexie and I landed in Guatemala, stepping into a world totally different from the one we had just left. After passing through customs, our tour group boarded into vans and drove twards Yaxha, passing ramshackle houses and really small villages that seemed to be put together by random bits and peices of wood.

The bus came to a rumbling stop. We boarded out and looked around. I could hear howler monkeys, and the trees above us were so unbelievably thick it was basically impossible to see through them. Ou guide began to talk about the city and Mayan culture and pointed to various places. I couldnt see a single thing. Nothing. As he continued to ramble on, I looked at Lexie, who shrugged. Finally our guide asked if there were any questions.

"When do we actually get to Yaxha?" I spoke up.

"We're here, now." he answered me.

"But like, where are the buildings?"

He pointed to all of the hillsides around us. "Those aren't hills you see. Beneath each and every mound is a building or temple." He let us wander around to see for ourselves.

"Can you belive that?" Lexie's expression was amazed.

"No, I cant." I said, looking around, smiling.

"I wonder what it would look like after ten hundred years."

"Prolly the same, dontcha think?" I thought, "Well, 'cept that they might be a little bit bigger."

"I guess so..." She squinted, looking around. "How in the world could someone have discovered this place? I mean, when I look at a mound of dirt, I dont automatically think that there could be a building under it."

I put an arm around her shoulders. "Thats why you aren't an archaeologist, Lexie."

She turned quickly and grinned at me. "Yeah, you're right. But I'll tell you something, Tommy."

"What?" I asked, grinning back at her.

"I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life to see a pile of dirt."

A bit later we were ushered into a plaza-looking area, and in front of us was a temple that had been fully restored. It was like a black trapezoid, and it towered hundreds of feet above us. As our guide rattled along, he mentioned that it had been abandoned roughly in AD 900, or something like that, some 600 years before Columbus came to America. All of a sudden my daily concerns seemed small in comparison to this building.

Lexie was examining the building carefully as well, but probably not the same way I was. "Just look at this thing! Look how high it is! I've _got_ to climb this thing!" So, with our guide's permission, we did.

The sky was full of black clouds by the distanct horizon. Beyond us, we could see the hugeness of the jungle spreading in almost fourty miles in every direction. It was impossible to see through the canopy of trees, and besides the sound of our breath, it was completely, and utterly quiet. The sides seemed to plunge stright down, and standing near the edge gave me the feelings of vertigo. But we couldnt wipe the grins that were plastered to our faces. A few hours ago we had started the trip of our lives, and now we were standing on what seemed to me to be the top of the world. It was absolutely amazing.

"Take my picture," Lexie said suddenly. "Mom and Dad'll love this." I took her picture, and then she took mine. Then we took millions more. As Lexie continued to gaze around in complete wonder, I reached in my bag for my phone.

"I've got to call the guys. They would never belive it!" I dialed the number, and it began to ring.

"is it ringing?" She asked in a hushed voice, filled with awe.

I nodded. I was making a call in the middle of nowhere. When they finally picked up, I said loudly, "I'm standing on top of a Mayan temple in the middle of a jungle!!" I heard them whoop.

"Is it great?" Dougie asked me.

I stared around grinning. "Its absolutely incredible."

"How's Lexie?" Danny asked.

I glanced at her. She was sitting on the edge, legs swinging, a serene look of peace on her face. "She's doing great. Wanna talk to her?"

"Yeah, sounds good." They all chorused. I sat next to Lexie and handed her my phone. She took it, smiling.

A minute later, our moment of peace and quiet was interrupted by the rest of the crowd joining us.

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_heyyyy hoped you liked it! please review!! _


	4. Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Peru

After we left Yaxha, we got ready to travel to Cuzco, the oldest settlement in the western part of the world, and the former capital of the Incan empire. With a population of 275,00, a city full of adobe houses, tiled roofs, winding cobblestone roads, amazing cathedrals and open markets, as we flew over the city, Lexie and I both were struck by its beauty.

On our flight we were told over and over about altitude sickness because Cuzco, in the Andes, is at 11,500 feet. We were told to move slowly as we got off the plane, and members of TCS stood at rondom places in the terminal repeating over and over as we walked past them. "_Take it easyyyy... Dont get out of breath. Go sloooooow..."_

"You would think that we're gonna go to like Kilmanjaro or whatever that mountain is called instead of walking through an airport." Lexie whispered. I nodded, agreeing with her thinking that this whole thing was ridiculous. Maybe the older people would get effected, but Lexie and I were both young and in relatively good shape, so ingoring the TCS' warnings, we walked in a normal pace and ended up waiting ten minutes for everone else to get to the buses.

While we were waiting though, Lexie looked concerned.

"What?" I asked.

She took a couple of deep breaths. "Ya know, I think I'm starting to feel it." she finally said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it makes me feel... _fuzzy_."

Actually, it made us both feel _really_ fuzzy, like we had too many drinks or something like that. Then we started to giggle and couldn't stop._ Everything _seemed to be unbelievably hilarious as we rode the bus: the peoples' clothes, the bumpy roads that made our voices vibrate, and above all, the name of the place we were about to go to: Sacsayhuaman. When it's pronounced right, Socsky Voomun, its sounded like a Russian person trying to say "sexy woman". In our state, it was the only thing we could talk about.

"I just cant vait until vee see zee socksy voomun," I said, and Lexie's oxygen-starved brain made her double over laughing.

"I vonder vere zee socksy voomun iz," I added, "You know zat I love nussing more zan a socksy voomun."

"Please... just stop it, 'kay?" She pleaded, still falling over with peals of laughter.

"I veally, veally, veally, veally vant to climb on a socky voomun," I continued, making her roll in her seat with giggles, "You know zat Peru iz famous for itz socksy voomun."

By then, Lexie had tears in her eyes.

We ate our lunch in our hotel. It had been modified to allowed to pump oxygen in. As we entered the lobby, I observed: "Zis iz even better zan a socksy voomun."

I heard a _thump_, and I looked around for Lexie. Where the heck-? I looked down to see her on the lobby floor, rolling around and giggling so hard she started to cry.

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After we visited the fortess of Sacsayhuaman, we headed back to tour the main cathedral of Cuzco. Larger than St. Patrick's in New York, there were hundreds of frescos and oil paintings while gold and silver was EVERYWHERE. Not only where the giant alters covered with the metal, but entire walls were covered as well. Now it was easy to understand why the Spainards wanted to conquer the Incas so badly.

As interesting as it was, Lexie seemed fixated with only one thing. With lots of effort, she finally got the attention fo our guide.

"Uhm, where's the painting of Jesus eating the guinea pig?"

We soon found ourselves staring up at the painting of Jesus with his diciples. With the bread and wine, there on a plate in front of Jesus was a roasted guinea pig. Lexie leaned over to me.

"Did you know that Jenny's classroom has a guinea pig for a pet?" Jenny was Lexie's younger sister who was about eight years old.

"She does?

"Oh yeah. She's gonna _love_ this." Lexie snapped a picture.

Museums.

Everywhere we went, we went to museum after museum after museum to see the artifacs represting the history of the native people. To be honest, the majority were unbelievably boring. We learned, for example, that nearly every ancient culture had- surprise!- pottery. So incidentally, we spent the majority of the time in those museums looking at jars and bowls. No matter how you looked at it, after a bit this was exciting as looking in your own kitchen cupboard. But our guides _loved_ jars and bowls. It seemed to Lexie and me that they could go on for hours about jars and bowls. They spoke with _reverence_ about jars and bowls.

"And this... This is the jar they used to store water!" They would say, "And now, right here, look how different it is when compared to one used to store wine! Can you _see_ the different shape and color! It's even a different _size_! Its amazing how they were just such an advanced civilization! Different liquids, different jars! _Just _imagine_ it_!"

"Wow," Lexie echoed, "Just imagine it!"

"I'm trying," I said.

"Different liquids, different jars!"

"It really boggles the mind, dunnit?"

Occaisonally we would learn something actually intresting. Bones, for example, made us pause. And the weapons. And skulls. Especially the skulls. In the museum there aws a collection of skulls behind the glass. Through the glass were placards in Spanish, so Lexie was able to decipher a bit, and make out the word _surgery_.

Our guide wasnt intrested at all about the idea of primitive surgery as we were. "This is not important," he urged, "Come- let me show you the jars and bowls. There are more up ahead."

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In Machu Picchu, we made our way through the ruins with a guide that told us about its history and culture. At one point, we sat quietly on the edge of one of the ruins our feet dangling over, taking the amazing veiw, neither one of us wanting to break the silence the enveloped us.

After lunch, we headed back to our hotel, arriving just after dark. I just stepped out of the shower when Lexie called me to come over. I got dressed into clean clothes and went over into her room, and I saw what she ordered from a local restaurant.

Roasted guinea pig.

"C'mon," She said, "lets try it. I had one of our guides order it for me. We'll get pictures."

Looking at it made me feel sick. "But... it still has the head... and the claws..."

She shrugged. "Its supposed to be a delicacy. And besides, Jesus ate one in his Last Supper,"

"You're... not really thinking about eating it, are you?"

"I might tast it... C'mon Tom, its the only chance we'll get. It's not like they serve it back where I live."

"really? _You're_ gonna take a bite?"

"I think I have to. Oh and Tom? Do me a favor."

"What?"

"Take a picture. For Jenny."

"That's mean. She is sooo going to scream."

"No, she wont, she'll think its funny," Lexie urged. Somehow I doubted that. "And I'll get a picture of you eating it, too."

"_Me_?"

"Well _duh_, I am sooo not letting you get away with this. Like they say, when in Rome..."

I looked down at it again. "You know, it make me a little sick just to consider it."

"Thats why I'm here. To help you expirience new things."

"Oh, geez, thanks."

"Hey," Lexie shrugged, "What are friends for? Now get the picture ready."

I did and snapped a picture as she took a bite, and she did the same for me as I took an even smaller bite, my stomach feeling like a lava lamp in fast foreward.

"Now that wasnt so bad, was it?" She asked, grinning.

"I think I'm going to be sick." I admitted.

Lexie laughed and threw an arm over my shoulders. "Just think it this way- this is the latest in a long line of stupid things we've done. And this time, it wasn't even dangerous."

"That sure makes me feel better."

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_Alrighty, guys, please review! they make me feel so much better... I need the emotional boost again... cos I'm moving for the BILLIONTH time... geez this really sucks... At least I'm going back to England to see my 'rents again... but gah... so please be nice and reveiw?_


	5. Easter Island & Rarotonga

"Hey! Tom! Check _that_ out!" Lexie's over-excited voice filled my ears as I awoke with a start.

I drowsily looked out the plane window, and my eyes popped open. Easter Island was coming into veiw, and what struck me was the lack of trees. I guess I thought I would be seeing something like, like maybe the palms and rainforest that were common through the south Pacific, but instead it was covered mostly by grassy meadows.

"Doesn't it look like someone dropped a piece of Kansas into the middle of nowhere?" Lexie said loudly, jumping up and down in her seat, "No wonder everyone says there's nothing in Kansas!"

We landed roughly twenty minutes later, where we walked around the seaside bluff to watch the sunset.

Waves were crashing violently against the rocks, rising thirty to fourty feet into the air. In the west, the sky turned hot pink, then bright orange, and then to the most beautiful shade of red I had ever seen. And then, a dark blanket of purple descended.

Lexie and I were sitting together close to the bluff, watching all of this and getting sprayed by the water before turning to me.

"I think I know what your problem is."

Oh great. Now she was going to be my shrink again.

"What problem?"

"Why you get stressed all the time."

Stressed? Me? Stressed? Ha, I dont think so... the last time I was stressed was when Harry started to laugh uncontrollably minutes before we met the queen! I'm not stressed!

"Why do you keep on talking to me about this?! Here I am, watching my very first South Pacific sunset, and you want to start probing into my pysche! Whats up with that, mate?"

"You're problem," She said, ignoring me, "is that you need more friends."

"I have friends. I have lots of friends."

"_Guy_ friends?"

"Yeah."

"Do you _do _anything with them? I mean, besides Danny, Dougie and Harry."

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes, or do you mean rarely?"

I sighed. "Well, you know, we're always on tour, so I can never really do something like that..."

"Well, you should try to hang out with them. Not like all the time, but like, try to make it more regular. You cant get anywhere without friends. Try an indoor soccer league or something like that!"

"But I suck at soccer, remember?"

Lexie threw her hands up into the air. "It doesnt _have_ to be soccer! You can do _anything_! The point is that you really should do something! Relationships are the most important-ist thing ever, and friends most deffinately qualify!"

I grined at her. "How come I get the feeling that you think the solution to all of my problems is to be more like you?"

She shrugged. "Hey, if the shoe fits..." And I laughed.

"Well then, would you mind if I started to talk about God to you?"

"Go on, I'll listen."

"_God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the same time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out."_

Lexie glanced at me. Even in the darkness, I could tell that her eyebrows were raised.

"First Corinthians, chapter 10."

"Impressive."

I shrugged. "I dunno, I just always liked that verse. Its like that footprints story, you know, the one where God walks with that man on the beach. Scences from his life flash and the sky, and in the worse flashbacks, the man only sees on set of footprints. Not 'cos God abandoned him, but becuase God carried him."

She stayed quiet for a moment. "So... you dont think that he abandoned us?"

"No." I replied. "And I dont think that he wants you to abandon him, either."

_I opened the door the see a crying Lexie. "Lexie, what-" She interrupted me by diving into my arms and sobbing into my shoulder. Her brother was in a terrible car accident, and he died before he got to the hospital._

_"Why did he leave him! Why!" She screamed, her eyes red and puffy and she stared at me, her amber eyes locking on mine._

_"Who left him?" I asked, confused._

_"God!" She yelled. "He never gave him a chance to live! I prayed and prayed and he ignored me! He left me! He left Jeremy!" She broke down crying as I led her to the nearest chair and sat her down._

_"It's ok... I dont think he ever left him, or you..."_

_"Easy for you to say! God's been ignoring my prayers for the last couple years! All of those kids in Africa that I pray for are dying everyday from famine, war, and AIDS! He doesnt care, Tom! He just uses our lives as a soap opera, one more entertaining than the next!"_

_I stared at her, shocked. "Lexie, dont think that way, please dont..."_

_She stared up at me, wiping away the last of her tears. "He left him, Tommy... Jeremy never got to go to college, marry, have kids... It was his birthday, Tommy... and God left him..."_

----------------------

The next morning, we set off the see the first of the Moai statues, those famous statues of Easter Island.

The first statue we saw was fascinating. So were the second and third. But the fourth and fifth... well, the novelty began to wear off. Though the archaeologists that were acting as our guides said that every single one was different, they all looked pretty much the same: eye sockets, long ears, nose, and mouth. Wow.

We were driven to the quarry where the Moai had been carved, open pastures unfolded on either side of us and we could see herds of wild horses galloping along. Their muscles were lithe and their coats were gleaming in the bright sunlight, making Lexie snap a picture for Jenny.

After going to the volcano, we went to the most photographed place on Easter Island. The archaeologists said that many of them had toppled over, but were put back into place, and fully restored. However, they weren't _completely_ restored. Originally, we learned, the statues had eyes, carved from wood and pupils painted on. The eyes had decayed, leaving the statues with a skeltal appearance.

"Why do you think they aren't gonna put the eyes in again?" Lexie asked me. "They stood them back upright, so its not like they dont think the statues should go undisturbed."

"I dunno. Maybe they thought it would give tourists heebie-jeebies."

Lexie stared at the statues for a long time before speaking up again. "I wouldn't get the heebie-jeebies."

"Same here."

She paused. "I think they'd look better with eyes, dontcha think?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should start a group. Lets call it, 'Eyeballs For Statues'."

"That has a nice sound to it. Go for it."

Lexie continued to stare up at the statues. "I really, really do think they'd look better, dont you?"

Standing next to Lexie, I realized that there were times when we talked, not only just to talk, but becuase we drew comfort from each other's voice.

After a barbecue on the beach, Lexie and I went for a swim. The white sand was soft and fine in our toes and the warm water splashed up to our waists.

"They dont really know what they're missing, huh?" Lexie said to me, pointing to the people that were sitting along the beach.

I shrugged. "Maybe its not a big deal to them. Alot of these people already traveled around before."

"Maybe," She said, "or maybe they never did it in the past, either. Some people just don't know how to have fun. They aren't even willing to try."

I glanced at Lexie, wondering if she was talking about me.

-----------------------------------------------

We left to the flight to Rarotonga, the main island in the Cook islands. We didn't have any tours scheduled, it was like a break before our fourteen hour flight to Australia in the morning.

So, Lexie and I rented bikes and zipped along the streets, stopping every so often to take pictures. We biked past a shot that advertised black pearls, and I convinced Lexie to let me buy her some.

"Lexie, what do you think?" I held up a pair of large pearl earings with flowers carved into them, but she frowned and shook her head.

"Nah, they're too girly. Tom, you really dont have to-"

"But I want to!" I interrupted, "So let me buy you something!"

She sighed. "Fine, Tom."

I smiled, and scanned the glass tables, looking for the perfect gift that she would love. And then I found it.

It was rather simple, actually, but it was beautiful all the same. It was a choker-looking necklace, with small black pearls and white pearls. I picked it up, and showed it to Lexie.

"What about this one?"

She gasped, and picked it up, beaming. "Oh Tom! Its so... so..."

I grinned at her reaction. "So what?"

"You're amazing!" She yelled, and wrapped her arms around me. I held her close, remembering how our bodies fit together, the familiar smell of strawberries that seemed to follow Lexie everywhere, wondering when was the last time I would ever hug her again.

And then I realized.

I was in love with Lexie.


	6. Ayers Rock, Australia

_Hey, sorry for changing the story's title, but I changed the plot so it (hopefully) will be better._

_I want to thank all of yall that reveiwed!!!!! thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! they most def made my day... sooo, anyhoodles, heres the next chappie. I hope you enjoy it. _

_-----------------------------------------------_

By the time we got to our hotel in Australia, Lexie and I were so tired we weren't looking foreward to the leaving-before-sunrise-tour to Ayers Rock. Though we wanted to sleep, somehow we woke up in time to join the group. It was cool and pitch black; it was possible to see millions of stars.

"wow," Lexie breathed, craning her neck upwards to stare at the stars. "wow."

"I know..." I coudnt remember a time when I had seen so many stars in my life at one time.

In the blackness, Ayers Rock looked like a big dark smudge against a darker background. It was almost impossible to see it unless you were looking at it in the correct direction. After a couple of minutes, light began to seep from the horizon, and Lexie and I directed our attention towards the rock. Ayers Rock was supposed to vary in colors depending on the atmospheric conditions, but in the beginning it was difficult for Lexie and I to understand why so many people found it interesting; it had none of the brilliance it was supposed to be famous for. Lexie snapped pictures, then more, and then yet even more, starting to feel disappointed. The sun began to brighten up the sky as it rose higher and higher, and Lexie opened her mouth to speak.

"Maybe, maybe Ayers Rock is more hype that reality-" She stopped mid sentence, her mouth popping open. The sun hit the rock at an angle that it began to glow red, like a huge coal. For the next few minuted, all Lexie and I could do was to stare at it in amazement.

Lexie wanted to take a walking tour through the Olgas, but I convinced her to take the helicopter ride, and so we were back at the airport at 8:30 ready again to depart. With four other people crowded into the helicopter- and the canopy on the helicopter only served to make it even more smothering- everyone was sweating by liftoff. Because of the blades and the roar of the engine, it was impossible to carry a conversation. But everytime I turned to look back at Lexie, I noticed that she never stopped grinning.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After lunch and a shower, we headed back to Ayers Rock. And by then, the heat was terrible, over 100 degrees. With the sun overhead and sweltering hot, Ayers Rock stood, color unremarkable. Flies were literally everywhere; you had to keep on moving or flies would land on your arms, face, legs, lips or eyelashes. There were _billions_ of flies. We all looked like Mexican jumping beans, as Lexie remarked.

Over the next hours, we stopped in various areas around Ayers Rock, which were regarded as sacred by the aborigines. We would walk around, listen to a story, and then walk around more. We were led to some painted caves, a watering hole, and exposed to _endless_ lectures about aboriginal history.

After the fourth or fifth stop, I turned to say something to Lexie.

Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, and I couldnt blame her. At this point, we were listening to a story about one of the upper crevices in the rock. It had something to do with a spirit warrior getting lost in the desert only to get into a fight with another spirit, which somehow left images of this battle into the rock. This, somehow, led people to the watering hole; they would search for the rock with the image, thereby knowing they were close. Or something like that. The terrible heat was making me dizzy and it was hard to keep all of these bloody characters in the legend straight.

"Have you noticed by now that the less interesting something is, the longer people want to talk about it?" Lexie sighed, swatting at flies.

"C'mon, Lexie, lighten up. Its about a culture that we have no clue about."

She turned to glare at me. "The reason why we know nothing about this is because its _boring."_

"Its not boring."

Lexie sighed again, bending down into her bag she was carrying to pull out a can of Raid. "Its a big rock- DIE!" She chased the flies around, spraying Raid everywhere, making flies drop from the air, dead. "Ha, fucking little bastards." She said triumphantly. "Its a big rock in the middle of a fucking desert." She finished, waving the Raid away from her face, coughing.

"What about the colors?" I asked, choking on the Raid and laughing at Lexie's antics at the same time.

"We saw those colors this morning. In the daytime, its a big ass fucking rock. And I wasnt under the torture of being eaten by flies, or cooked under this fucking sun while being subjected to these endless stories about spirit battles."

"Doesnt it amaze you that people lived here for _thousands _of years?"

"It amazes me that they never _left_." I frowned at her. She threw her hands up into the air. "What? You mean no aborigines wandered to the coast, saw the beaches and felt the cool sea breezes while fishing for dinner and said to themselves, '_Hey, maybe I should thing about moving?'_"

"I think the heat's getting to you." I pointed out.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, its getting to me. I'm dying out here in the middle of a who-knows-where desert. I feel like those fucking buzzards up there are just waiting for me to drop my guard." I laughed at her grumpiness.

--------------------------------------------------

Later that day, after chilling in the cool air of our hotel, we headed _back_ to Ayers Rock. This time, we would get to see how the rock changed colors at _sunset_.

"Somehow, I'm getting the impression that theres not much to do besides stare at Ayers Rock." Lexie huffed.

"It wont be so bad," I replied, grinning. "I heard that theres supposed to be orginal aborigine music tonight.

"Oh geez," Lexie said, throwing her hand up into the air once more. "I just cant wait."

Actually, the night was one of the most rememorable. After a cocktail party and an amazing dinner, the candles were blown out and we listened to aborigine music in the dark. At the end, on performer asked, "Alright, who would like to perform for us?"

It was quiet for a moment, and then Lexie passed me her video camera. "Tape me, will ya?" She whispered as she raised her hand. She was led to a stool where she grabbed an acoustic guitar. Someone put a microphone in front of her, and some candles were lit. I focused the camera on her, wondering what she was going to do.

Grinning into the microphone, Lexie said, "Okay, this is a song written by one of my friends, and I hope you enjoy it, cos this is one of my favorites." Lexie began to pick at the strings, and a tune, somewhat familiar, wafted quietly through the night.

_"__I wonder what it's like to be loved by you  
I wonder what its like to be whole  
And I don't walk when there's a stone in my shoe  
All I know, that in time I'll be fine"_

Walk in the Sun. Lexie's voice came out, quiet and sweet, like an angel. My throat constricted as I fought the urge to cry and tried to focus on taping Lexie.

"_I wonder what it's like to fly so high  
Or to breathe under the sea  
I wonder if someday I'll be good with goodbyes  
But I'll be okay if you come along with me _

Such a long, long way to go  
Where I'm going I don't know  
I'm just following the road  
For a walk in the sun  
For a walk in the sun"

Okay, Tom, cool down and enjoy it... I repeated to myself over and over in my head. I found myself mouthing the words to the song, and before I know it, she was singing out the last verses and strumming the last chords.

"_Such a long, long way to go  
Where I'm going I don't know  
I'm just following the road  
For a walk in the sun  
For a walk in the sun, yeah  
Woah  
Woah  
Woah_"

She finished, stood up and bowed, a bright grin on her face. Then she ran down to me, and hugged me tightly. "Did you like it?" She asked me, smiling up at me.

I swallowed hard. "Yeah," My voice cracked. "I really did love it." My eyes were watering now.

She pulled away to stare up into my eyes. "Did I sing bad? Why are you crying?"

I shook my head, wiped my tears with the back of my hand, and pulled her in close for another hug. "Nothing." I murmured into her hair. "It just... it was moving." She buried her head into my chest.

"I'm glad you liked it."

Liked it? I loved it. But Lexie... why do you have to die? Why? I love you too much for you to go...

On the way back to the hotel, Lexie leaned her head back onto her seat, the ideal picture of contentment. "The morning was great, and this evening was the most amazing thing ever."

I smiled at her. "But you could have done without the middle, huh."

Lexie grinned, not opening her eyes. "You're starting to read my mind, Tom."

I leaned back and closed my eyes as well. No one was speaking; everyone seemed just as relaxed as we were. In the silence, I let my mind wander. If Lexie never got a tumor, we would never be doing this...

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_Ok, guys, review, please! ...Or everyone will have to wait even longer for an update! so please review!_


	7. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

**Hey guys! I havent updated in forever, huh? Ah well, I have no excuses- Ive been too lazy! hmm... I'll try to make it long to make up for it, k?**

I wasn't sure what to expect when we reached Cambodia. Even though I'd been to Hong Kong and Japan for toursI wasn't really reader for the city of Phnom Penh. The city struck me as hopeful and tragic. Instead of cars, the people drove scooters, and the roads were bustling with life. It was kind of strange- for every man in a business suit, I would see another who lost a leg in the land mines. Everywhere I looked, I saw contradiction of a broken country trying to rebuild itself.

Our stop in this city was a short one. We would go to the National Museum before heading to Angkor. The National Musuem, I thought, was a sure representative of Cambodia. Outside there were bunches of beggars, asking and pleading us for money, and inside was the evidence of the war that had raged here for decades. All of the windows were broken- the building was exposed to the elements. Most of the statues were broken, and there were bullet holes that dotten the crumbling plaster walls. The ceiling was stained with water and the floor was bare concrete.

Yet our guides spoke with such pride in the voices about their culture and the spirit of their people, by the time we left, Lexie and I were subdued. Of all of the places we had visited so far, Cambodia seemed to be the most foreign, and we felt out of place.

Our stop at Phnom Penh was only two hours, but it felt like so much longer. With the weight of Cambodia's past bearing down on us, we set off for the jungles of Angkor.

--

The main road from the airport not only lead to temples, but to massive hotels. They were gleaming buildings lavishly designed and softly lit landscaping. Half a dozen hotels had rooms that costed more than a Cambodian made a year, some had spas, and all of them had stuffy, upscale restaurants that required a jacket.

At our hotel, we were told about an excursion to Angkor Wat at sunrise. Most people, including Lexie, opted out. It was the first and only time Lexie and I weren't together to see a sight.

On the bus ride over, I was asked by some of the other members how we were getting along.

"Fine," I had replied, "Lexie's easy to travel with."

"Doesn't it bother you? I mean, being stuck with her all the time?"

I though about it, thinking about how odd it seemed. "Actually, it doesn't. We always seem to want the same thing- almost like we're in sync."

"That's amazing..." He said, shaking his head. "You two get along better than some of the married couples. If you watch closely, you can see that some of them are getting tired of each other already."

--

After going to Angkor Wat, we climbed back onto the bus and the countryside became crowded with scooters. There seemed to be no driving regulations- people drove on either side, wove in and out of traffic, and veered at the last second. The scooter riders almost seemed as impressive as Angkor Wat itself. No bigger than a moped, they were Cambodia's version of a Chevy Suburban.

"Look! Theres four people on that scooter!" Someone had said, and we all crowded on one side to take a look.

"Over there, theres five!" and we would crowd to the other side.

"I see six!"

"No way!"

"I'm serious! Back there, look!"

And we did. I blinked at the sight of the scooter- it did have six people. It was moving slowly, but moving nonetheless, veering like everyone else.

Finally someone at the front said, "You're not gonna belive this,"

"What?"

He pointed throught the window. "I count _seven_ on that one."

And there were. A man with his children, presumably taking them to school, as they were in uniforms. Two little girls sat behind him, three in front, and his youngest on his shoulders. As we continued going back to our hotel, our group looked unsuccessfully for a scooter with eight people.

As if, in this remarkable, unbelievable environment, seven weren't enough.

--

Since it was so hot in Cambodia, our day was divvied up into two segments. In the late morning we went to many temples and sights- Ta Prohm, the Bayon, and Elephant Terrace. Later, we would go back to Angkor Wat.

Our first stop was at Ta Prohm, and in spite of the magnificence of Angkor Wat, this was by far my favorite temple. It wasn't too big and was in a terrible state of disrepair, but the jungle growth was interesting to me and Lexie. COvered in shade, huge roots of strangler figs and silk cotton wove around the doorways and crept over walls. It seemed that the jungle was in the act of eating the temple.

The temple, though pretty much in ruins, somehow was in its original shape. Like all of the temples we had seen so far, it had four square walls, (tunnels, actually) surrounding a temple-mountain, and we eventually wove our way through the ruins towards the center. Unlike the other sites we'd visited, as soon as Lexie rounded the corner, It was easy to loose sight of others in our group.

"This is great!" Lexie exclaimed, whirling around on her toes to look at the area.

"It's pretty amazing, innit?"

"It reminds me of the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ride at Disneyland!!!"

"You're such a crass American," I complained.

"Don't you think it does?" She continued, ignoring me completely, "Or, it could be a movie set. Like someone imagined what a ruined temple looked like, then built it! It looks too real to be real."

"Too real to be real?" I asked incredulously.

"Exactly." She said, nodding at me with approval. "Like someone _planned_ it."

--

The Bayon was nothing amazing after being to Ta Prohm. It was the same shape, but we did see our first examples of the relief carvings for which these temples were supposedly famous for. In the sandstone, we could make out various pictures.

The stories, though, were difficult to follow. The linguistic sounds of Cambodia were so different, that simple words were near impossible to understand. So, even when our guides spoke in English, we had to sift through heavy accents and really long pauses as our guides stumbled over worlds. It wasn't just hard for us to understand them- they had an equally difficult time understanding us.

"Why do they call 'em relief carvings, instead of carvings?" Lexie piped up randomly.

"These...are... uh...are... uh..._relief _carvings." Our guide answered with a bright smile.

"Yeah, but why _relief_?" She asked impatiently.

"See?" He said, pointing at the wall behind him. "_Relief_ carvings." He pronounced the word slowly and carefully. "_Relief_."

"Oh," Lexie said, knowing she wouldn't be getting anywhere. "Thanks, anyway."

He bowed. "I'm welcome."

--

The sun was directly over us and was terribly hot when we finally reached Elephant Terrace. We were told that the rulers used to sit on top of a wall with elephants carved on it and watch performances on the plaza.

"What kind of performances?" Lexie quipped.

"Like the...uh...uh..."

"Play?" Lexie provided.

"No... the uh..."

"Circus?" She offered.

The guide's face lit up with a bright smile. "Yes! The circus. With the swingers on the uh... the uh..." He waved his hand around, mimicking the word he was trying to say.

"Trapeze?"

"Yes. Trapeze. And there were women... uh..." The guide swished his hips side to side.

"Dancers?" Lexie suggested.

"Yes, dancers. And the... uh... uh..."

"Elephants?"

The guide fronwed. "No. No elephants."

--

After a three-hour break Lexie and I were ready for heading out to Angkor Wat. By then, we had been told over and over again that our two hours wouldn't be enough to fully appreciate it.

I suppose that they were right, simply because how large it was. Yet, unless you were completely versed in the Hindu god Vishnu and had the patience to learn how the damn stories were interpreted, two hours were more than enough. One of our TCS lecturmen were _obsessed_ with the relief carvings of Angkor. As we rounded the main walls of the temple, he grew giddy with excitement. As we stared and photographed the carvings, our lecturer would stop every couple steps and point at a random secont of the wall, discribing it in farther detail, his voice absolutely full of enthusiasm.

To be honest, it only confused me.

"Now this," he would say, "is where Vishnu crosses the river. Look where he's standing. See the temple in the foreground?"

Lexie and I would squint hard at the picture searching for the tmple and finding it, thinking, _so far, so good_. Then, unfortunately, he would go on.

"As you probably know, the temple behind him represents the cosmos as centered on Mout Meru- in other words, its the model of the universe in microcosm!!! This-as everything about Angkor Wat- is the same representation!!!! And all these reliefs come from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as well as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is _absolutely extraordinary_, if you think about it. _Furthermore_, as we move along, come now, lets go, we havent got all day!!!! _Furthermore_, you'll also notices scenes from the life of Suryavarman II himself, ywho apparently decided to identify himself with Rama and Krishna, the incarnations of Vishnu, thus making himself a _Davaraja_!!! You can _just_ imagine what Jayavarman II thought about _that_, especially after defeating the Chams!!! Oh, and just up ahead, we'll see the famous relief that depicts the myth of cosmic renewal, also known as the Churning Sea of Milk!!!"

By then, Lexie's eyes had acquired a familiar glassy sheen.

"Milk?"

"That's what he said," I replied.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lexie went on, ranting. "And who's Rama and what on earth is a Devaraja?"

"Do you want me to ask?"

"No," Lexie said quickly. "Maybe if no one asks, he'll _eventually_ move on." Lexie paused a moment, worrying her bottom lip as she shook her head. "I mean, does he really think we know all this crud about Shiva?"

"Vishnu. He's talking to us about the god _Vishnu_."

"Whatever," she said. "My point being, I don't know any of this, I won't remember any of this, it's too much- I mean, the wall is ten feet high and goes all around the temple. Its over half a mile long. Architectually, its amazing, and I can see _why_ it took decades to build, but unless you live for this stuff, all of these dumb carvings seem to run together." Lexie grumped and crossed her arms.

I grnned at her. "_Relief _carvings." I said, "_Relief_."

"Whatever."

--

When we finally reached the center and stood at the base of the temple mount, our guide was in full swing.

"It's interesting to compare Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, but for historical purposes, you might keep in mind the animism that was also prevalent in the early Khmer empire- for example, the belief in Neak ta. Perhaps you notice the serpent god naga near the entrance? This-"

"Excuse me?" Lexie interrupted.

The lecturer paused. "yes?"

Lexie pointed up to the temple-mountain. "can we climb that thing?"

--

We spent the rest of our hour exploring the ruins on our own. We climbed the crumbling steps and wandered through rocky corridors, posed for pictures, and surveyed the area from the highest spots we could reach.

"I do hope there won't be a test on this," Lexie said as she bent down and grabbed a handfull of rocks, chuckinig them down one by one. "I'd flunk."

We walked down the causeway.

"You and me both," I agreed.

Lexie paused and stared intently at me. "Do you realize we've been gone for two weeks?"

"It doesn't seem like it."

"its kind of sad to think about it. I'd been dreaming about this trip for months, and we're already more than halfway through. Its going so fast." Lexie sat down and patted the place next to her. I joined her and she leaned onto me immediately. I wrapped an arm around her bony shoulders.

"Dreams are funny like that." I said, "You want something so desperately, you somehow get it, and suddenly its over. Like playing a song- all that working for a couple minutes for a crowd. The secret, I've learned, is the appreciate the process."

Lexie snuggled next to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, in some form of a hug. "Are you getting philosophical on me?" She mumbled.

"Nah," I admitted. "I'm just talking to hear my head rattle."

"Good." She smiled. "I've had more that enough philosphy for my life."

**Theres that long awaited chapter! Sorry I took so long. Ah well, hope you liked it!!! REVIEW, PLEASE!!! they keep me updating...**

**Oh btw, if you're wondering how i know all this crap about Cambodia and all the crap that the lecturer said, I have an obsessed uncle who spends his time down there looking at all the damn reliefs. He took me down there, and I mean, the place was gorgeous, but i could have done without the mindless babbling. But since hes so interested in me learing, he usually makes me take a test. good thing i had it recorded on my phone. XD**


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